Lamp shade and the like



7 Sept. 10, 1929. .A. L.- CALDWELL 1,727,859

LAMP SHADE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Sept. 1, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 MLWvwcmboz $511 hez (lbtom o 2 Sept. 10, 1929. A, L, CALDWELL 1,727,859

LAMP SHADE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Sept. 1, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wgwueutoz 23% uzz gluon W1 0 P 10, 1929- I A. L. M. CALDWELL 1,727,859

LAMP SHADE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Sept. 1, 1925 :5 Sheets-Sheet 5 vW w svwe/ntoz @3311 hex Gum/M M 4 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES" PATIENT omens. 1

ALICE LOUISEMARGUERITE CALDWELL, on NEW Yon-K, N. i. M

LAMP SHADE AND THE LIKE.

Application filed September 1, 1925, Serial No. 53,794, and in GreatBritain January 21,1925. Renewed February 13, 1929,

This invention relates to lampshadesend the like of the kind in which acovering of textile fabric, paper, parchment or the like I is mounted ona framework of a convenient form.

The framework for lampshades of this kind usually comprises a rigidstructure generally formed of a series of lengthsof wire bent tosuitable form and soldered together,

andif such framework is'to be covered with acter of the decorationof therooms in which they are used or the dismantling of such shades to effectthe cleaning oft-he covering material thereof is'very' rarely effected;One of the objects of the present inven tion is to provide afcollapsibleframework from which the covering maybereadily' de tached' and to whichit maybe readily applied.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a framework which maybe adjust-able in size.

A fiirther object: of the invention is to provide afi'ameivorkof'whichthe various parts thereof may be adjusted to vary theshape of the framework. I I

In order that the invention may beclear' ly understood reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which illustrate j by Wayne examplevari-ousembodiments of my invention and in which Fig. 1 1s a perspective view ofa lampshade HCCOIClll'lgtO a'preferred form of my invention the coveringbeingshown removed from'the greater part of the framework so as toclear-1v show the construction thereof.

Fi s. 2 and 3 areres ectivel front and side elevationsof the staymembersillus trated in Fig; 1* of the drawingswhich are adapted to spaceapart the ringson which the material of the shade ismounted.

Figs and dare respectivelyfront and side elevations of member. a I 7Figs. 6 and 7 arerespectively front and side elevations ofa modifiedconstruction of the end portions of the stay members by which they ryingrings. i

F igs. 8 and 9 are respectively plan and front elevation of a fabriccarrying ring? Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively plan and frontelevatioir of a portion ofam'odified construction of fabric carryingring.

Fig. 12 is a front elevation of an adjustable support for mounting theshade on lamp bracket or thslike. I Fig's.- 13 and 14 are respectivelyplan-and front elevation of a modified 'form o'fi adjustable supportwith pa'rt's thereof removed. Figs. 15and 16' are respectivelyplan andfront. elevation of a further modified form of adjustable support. Fig.17'is aperspective'view of an attach a modified form of stay ment foralamp support adapted to allow of a ready its support.

F1gfl8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating attachment of a lampshade toa are "connected to thefabrie car i a compound shape of shade which canbe made according to my invention;

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings the simple form of frameworkillustrated therein comprises two collapsible members 1 and2, of ringlike formation, i. e. circular,elliptical, or other closed shape, whichare spaced 7 apart by means of'a plurality of stay meme bers 3,wh'ich,for the small size of lampshade as illustrated, are three innumber butwhich,

for larger'lampshades may be fouror more. j The stay members are notrigidly attached to the rings 1 and 2 but are merely indetach ableengagement therewith and such rings are held in engagement withsuch staymembers,

by means of the material 4, whichis connect ed at its opposite sidesrespectively to thesaid rings 1 and 2. The material 4 which may be ofsilk or other textile material or of paper or the'lik is suitably shapedaccording to the form of shade which it is intended to cover; Ifthelampshade is cylindrical thenthe mate rial will comprise a straightlength'of mate rial with its upper and lower sides of a lengthcorresponding to the circumference of the shade. If the lamp shade isthe shape of a frustum of a core as illustrated in Fig. 1, then thematerial will preferably be of sector shape with its upper and lowersides of lengths corresponding to the circumferences of the upper andlower-rings 1 and 2 respectively; though such a shape is not essentialsince if desired the material may be of the same shape as for acylindrical shade in which case it would bepleated to a greater extentabout the upper ring 1 than about the lower ring 2. The collapsiblerings 1 and 2 are divided'or split transversely, their ends beingadapted to be connected together in any suitable manner, andthe oppositesides of the material a are so formed that they maybe attached to thesplit rings, If the material when mounted upon the frame is intended tobe pleatedthe material at'each side thereof may be provided with aseries of holes by which it may be threaded onto the rings, one holebeing provided in each side of each pleat. Preferably however each sideof the material is provided with a fairly broad hem through which thesplit rings 1' and 2 are threaded. The material is of such a length thatwhen fixed onthe frame, the opposite ends thereof contact, thus forminga com plete covering for the frame.

The stays 3 are preferably of resilient materialand adapted whenengaging the rings 1 and 2 to press them" apart thereby stretch: ing thematerial 4 attached thereto and insuring secure engagement between thestays and rings.

, The preferred form of stay is illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 2andVSof the drawings, and comprises two pieces of resilientv strip metal6 and 7 bound together at their central portions byrivets or by ametallic sleeve or the like 8 encircling the same. The ends 9 of saidmembers 8 are preferably bent inwardly a slight amount so that they willengage the rings 1 and 2 at a greatangle and .such ends are eachprovided with a recess 10 which recesses are adapted to receive therings when the stays are placed in engaging position therewith; The ends9 engage the rings 1 and 2 through the material a when the rings areenclosed in thehems formed on the sides of the material and to preventany damaging of such material such ends are preferably tapered slightlyand the corners of same are rounded off as shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings. If desiredsuch ends may be provided with protecting clips ofthin metal such as brass. When applying the stays to the rings 1 and 2the pairs of legs on the opposite sides of the central binding member 8are opened out when the ends can be readily engaged with the two rings 1and 2. The modified form of stay i Figs. 1 and 5 of thedrawings isadjustable in length and'is also pre furably made of resilllustrated inient metal. Any means may be adopted for making the stay adjustable butin the construction illustrated the stay is made in two parts the shankpieces 11, 12 being in sliding engagement with each other and held insuch engagement by means of tongues 13 provided in the ends of suchshank pieces and embracing the opposed shank pieces respectively. Tofacilitate engagement and disengagement of such parts recesses 14 areprovided in the shank pieces adjacent the tongues 13, such recessesbeing of a size which will allow of the passage therethrough of theoverlapping portions of the tongues when the stay is ex tended to itslimit with the tongues on the op posed shanks adjacent each other. Toprevent slipping between the two opposed shanks a screw 15 is providedin screw threaded engagement with one of the shanks and adapted toengage the face of the other shank when operated, though any otherwellknown means may be adopted for this purpose.

The outer ends of the shanks are preferably bifurcated and the ends ofsuch bifurcated portions are soshaped that they are adapted to readilyengage the inner edges of the two rings 1 and 2. The shape of suchendsma y beas illustrated in Fig. 5 of thedrawings, the metal of thestay being bent to form a recess 16 which is adapted to receive thering, such recess being defined by a forward upwardly extending portion17 and a rearward upwardly extending portion 18. The upwardly extendingportions 18 are preferably'bent forward attheir upper ends so as to tendto retain the fabric carrying ring in the recess 16 and the metal stripis preferably returned upon itself to provide a rounded front edge whichwill not damage the material. The space between the member 17 and theforwardly extending portion 18 must of course be sufficient to allow ofthe insertion of the material arryin'g ring with the material thereon.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the material carrying rings inthe recesses 16 and be pivotally mounted on the stay as clearly shown inFigs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. In

such a construction the material of the stay is bent to form the forwardupwardly extending portion 17 and returned upon itself forming theshoulder '19. The end portion at a distance below such shoulder isdivided so as to form two spaced portions 20 which are bent about anaxis to form bearings for two side projections 21 on the member 22 whichdefines the rear side of the recess 16. The member 22 is held in itsupright position by a spring 23 fixed at its lower end to the bodyportion of the stay as by rivets and engaging at its upper portionagainst a flat portion on the member 22. A hole 25 is provided in themember 22 adjacent the upper the binding members 8 of the stays 3. The

en d of the spring 23 to allow of such member being turned rearwardlyabout its pivots when assemblingor dismantling the shade.

The rings 1 and 2 may be made of strip metal or of wire. In Figs. '8 and9 a ring has been illustrated composed of strip metal. Such ring isadjustable in size and is adapted to be readily broken and reformed. Forthis purpose each end of the ring on the sides thereof is provided withtwo tongues 26 adapted to embrace the material of the ring to the rearof the other end thereof. In order to break or assemble theringyrecesses 27' are provided in the side edges of the ring adjacentthe tongues 26 such recesses being of a depth corresponding to theamount by which the tongues 26 overlap the edges of the ring in engagingsame. The outer corners of the overlapping tongues 26 are preferablyrounded off as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 so as to allow freedom of movementof the end'of the ring within the hem on the covering material 4. t

In Figs. 10 and 11 a ring composed of me tallic wire is illustrated suchring having fixed at one of its ends as by soldering or welding, asleeve 28 which provides a passage adjacent the end to which it is fixedthrough which the other end of the wire ring may be I they will offer aslittle interference as possible to the assembling of the fabric thereon.

Any suitable means may be provided for connecting the shade to the lampor to its support. Fig. 12 illustrates means specially adapted to beused in connection with they construction of shade illustrated in Fig. 1of the drawings. Such means comprises three members 30 preferably madeof wire which are adjustable in length each of which is shaped at oneend into an annular member 31 adapted to cooperate with the lamp supportand at the other end into an upstanding pin like member 32 adapted toengage within a socket 32 provided for instance in each of adjustabilityof the members 30 is effected by making them in two parts. Each ofsuchparts comprises a stem 33 and such parts are connected respectively attheir outer'endsyto the members 31 and 32 and are held in slid:

ing engagement relatively to each other by the inner endsthereof .bemgbent over as at 34 so as to encircle the adjacent stem. The

stem portions 33 of the members 30 are preferably inclined relatively tothe plane of the end portions 31, the direction of inclination dependingupon" whether the shade isto be sp'ectively'of the members and arms,which engage the opposed body portions of such members. The outer endsof said members 37' are providedrwith claw like members 39 preferably ofcircular cross section and such claw likemembers are adapted to embracethe upright portionsof the stays 11. In on der to readily attach'sucharms to the said stays recesses 40 (as clearly shownin Fig. l)

are provided in opposite sides of said upright portion thereof of adepth to allow ofthe open ends of such claw like members passingtherethrough. Ata shortdistance fr0msaid recesses and at oppositesidesthereof shoulders ll and 42 are provided which are adapted to limit thesliding movement of the stay within the clawlikemembers and to restagainst such members and thereby support the "shade thereon. Theshoulders 41' are provided so that the shade may be used with :1.depending lamp, bulb and the shoulders 42 are providedso that the shademay be used with an upright bulb in which'case the end of the staymember provided with the mem bers 41 and42 willbe in engagement with thelower ring. The claw like members enclose a space which is. somewhatbroader than the.

thickness of the stays and owing to such members being of circular crosssection they can readily engage the stay members whether they arevertical or inclined.

A further modified form of supporting member is illustrated in Figs. 15and 16 of the drawings, In this form the outer ends of the arms. areprovided with. a hook shaped end 45 adaptedto engage under one of therings of the shade. The length of such arm may be made adjustable as bymaking it in two parts 46, 47, one of which isadapted to slide within.the other. The inner ends of such. arms 40 comprise ring shaped members48. Thearms maybe inclined relatively to the plane of the ring shapedmembers or not as is desired;

If desired the ring shaped 'members, on

the supporting means -illustrated in Figs; 12-16'may'be dispensedwithand depending pin likemembers' c'onnected'to vthe inner end of each. ofthe radially extendingarms may be substituted thereforjtin' which case amem ber, such as that illustrated in; Fig. 1'7,' containing a pluralityof sockets 4.9, for the re for attaching to the coveringmaterial oftheshade, which are of an adjustable nature and which are splittransversely these features of such members are not essential since suchmembers may be in the form ofembroidery ring that is they may comprisetwo rings one fitting within the other in frictional engagement witheach other. With rings of this kind the opposite sides of the materialthe engaging ends of such stay memberswould be slightly modified to moreeffectively engage with such double rings, for instance such endscouldbe made so as to it snugly around the inner edge of each of the doublerings the material being clamped between the double rings so as toextend over the outer edge of the outer rings thereby fully coveringsuch rings. In such a construction there would be no possibility ofdamage being caused to the material by the stay members since they wouldengage the clamping rings directly.

It will beappreciated from the description hereinbefore contained thatthe shade may be readily attached to and detached from the lamp supportand that it may be readily dis.

assembled and the parts thereof broken down so asto allow of thereadydetachmentof the covering. 7

Further, in most of the constructions de scribed the parts thereofincluding the means for attachment to the lamp shade are adjustable insize so that when the shade has been dismantled they may be adjusted andassembled again to form a shade of different size or shape. The staysillustrated in Figs.

.13 of the drawings are not actually adjustable in size though theirresiliency is such that they will allow of a considerable variation inthe width of the material used in covering the shade. I v I By alteringthe size of one ring to a greater extent than the other the frame may bechangedfrom a cylindrical shape to that of a frustum of a cone or viceversa, or the slope of the sides thereof may be altered. Further threerings could be combined and spaced apart by two series of stay membersto form a frame of the shape illustrated in Fig. 18 of the drawings, andthe slopes of the sides thereofmay be altered as desiredby adjusting thesizes of the three rings.

If desired the stay members may be covered with material as by wrappingthem with tape such material being of a color which harmonizes with thatof the material of the shade.

If the frame it to be used with a covering of stiff material such ascardboard or the like the rings 1 and 2 may be channel shaped so as toengage about the opposite sides of the material and such rings could beheld together by stay members of the kind illustrated in Figs. 4; and 5of the drawings but having their ends in the form of hooks or the likeadapted to engage over the outersides of such rings.

Numerous modificationscould be devised in embodying .my invention inpractical structures, and I donotwish to be limited to the constructionsillustrated or described in this specification but desire to cover allembodiments coming within the scope of my appended claims.

Whatl claim is 1. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising aplurality of members of ring like formation adapted to be connected tothe covering material of the shade in such manner that they may bereadily detached therefrom and attached thereto, and a plurality of staymembers to be spaced apart peripherally of the assembled frame, adaptedto be detachably engaged to said members of ring like formation whenconnected to said covering material and to co-operate with said coveringmaterial to hold said members of ring like formation in spaced relation.

2. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members adapted to be connected to the covering material of theshade in'such manner that they may be readily detached therefrom andattached thereto, and a plurality of stay members to be spaced apartperipherally of the assembledframe, such stay members being adjustablein length and adapted to be detachably engaged to said annular memberswhen connected'to said covering material and to co-operate with saidcovering material to hold said annular members in spaced relation.

3. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members split transversely and adapted to, be connected to thecovering material of the shade by engagement within a plurality of hemsspaced apart in said material and a plurality of stay members to bespaced apartperiphera-lly of the assembled frame, adapted to have theiropposite ends respectivcely c tachably engagedto said annular memberswhen connected to said covering material and to co-operate with saidcovering material to hold said annular members in spaced relation.

4. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members split transversely and having their ends adjust-ablyconnected to each other in such manner that such annular members may beadjusted in size, such members being adapted to be connected to thecovering material of the shade by engagement within a plurality of hemespaced apart in said material and a plurality of stay members to bespaced apart peripherally of the assembled frame, adapted to bedetachably engaged to said annular members when connected to saidcovering material and to cooperate with said covering material to holdsaid annular members in spaced relation.

5. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofmembers of ring like formation adapted to be connected to the coveringmaterial of the shade in such manner that they may be readily detachedtherefrom and attached thereto and a plurality of stay members to bespaced apart peripherally of the assembled frame, such stay membersbeing adjustable in length and having bifurcated ends which are adaptedto be detachably engaged to said members of ring like formation whenconnected to said covering material, said stay members when adjustedinto extended position being adapted to cooperate with said coveringmaterial to hold said members of ring like formation in spaced relation.

6. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members which are split transversely so that they may beconnected to the covering material of the shade by insertion in hemsprovided in said covering material in spaced relation and a plurality ofstay members to be spaced apart peripherally of the assembled frame,such stay members being adjustable in length and having bifurcated endswhich are adapted to be detachably engaged to said members of ring likeformation when connected to said covering material, said stay memberswhen adjusted into extended position being adapted to co-operate withsaid covering material to hold said members of ring like formation inspaced relation.

7. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members adapted to be detachably engaged to the coveringmaterial of the shade and a plurality of stay members adapted to bedetachably engaged to said annular members and to cooperate with saidmaterial to hold said annular members in spaced relation, said staymembers each comprising two resilient members of strip metal. lying faceto face and connected together substantially at their centers, suchresilient members being provided at their ends with recesses by whichsaid members are adapted to engage said annular members.

8. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofmembers of ring like formation adapted to be connected to the coveringmaterial of the shade in such manner that they may be readily detachedtherefrom and attached thereto, a plurality of stay members to be spacedapart peripherally of the assembled frame, adapted to be detachablyengaged to said members of ring like formation when connected to saidcovering material and to co-operate with said covering material to holdsaid members ofring like formation in spaced relation, and means adaptedto be detachably connected to the assembled frame for connecting theshade to a lamp bracket or the like.

9. A collapsible framework for a lamp shade comprising a plurality ofannular members adapted to be detachably engaged to the coveringmaterial of the shade, a plurality of stay members adapted to be,detachably engaged to said annular members and to co-operate with saidmaterial to hold said annular members in spaced relation, said staymembers each comprising two resilient members of strip metal lying faceto face and provided at their ends with recesses by which said membersare adapted to engage said annular members, and a piece of strip metaladapted to embrace said resilient members substantially at their centersfor anchoring them together such strip metal being bent to form a socketadapted to receive a pin or the like, and adjustable means adapted toconnect said shade to a lamp bracket or the like such means having atits outer ends upstanding members adapted to engage within the socketson the stay members.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALICE LOUISE MARGUERITE CALDWELL.

